FEARS were growing last night for the safety of a Cheshire school group caught up in the deadly Sars outbreak sweeping across south-east Asia.

A 25-strong group of pupils and staff from Knutsford High School are currently in the Chinese capital, Beijing, where the death toll from the respiratory disease now stands at 28.

Almost 200 new cases of Sars were confirmed in the city yesterday alone, bringing the total to more than 500.

Cheshire County Council is anxiously waiting guidance from the Foreign Office as to whether it may be necessary for the group of 21 pupils and four teachers to be flown home early.

Mainland China has now reported 2,158 Sars infections and 97 deaths, out of a worldwide total of 235.

The dangers facing the 13 and 14-year-old pupils have been exacerbated by the Chinese government's failure to admit to the scale of the outbreak until Sunday.

They have now admitted that Beijing is one of the areas worst affected by the virus.

Beijing's mayor and China's health minister have since been sacked.

A spokesman for Cheshire County Council said all the pupils and staff in the Knutsford group, which includes headmaster Kevin Hollins and wife Valerie, were well and in good spirits.

None was showing any signs of Sars symptoms.

They travelled to Shanghai on April 11 for a cultural exchange before moving to Beijing on Monday.

Council spokesman Ian Callister said: "We are closely monitoring the situation through the Government and the travel company and are in regular contact with the group and parents. We have been in touch with all the parents through a member of the school staff to both reassure and inform them of the latest situation and will continue to do so in the future."

The county's cabinet member for education said there had been no reason to cancel the visit.

Coun David Rowlands said: "We spoke to the Foreign Office before the group left for China on April 11 and were told there was no reason to cancel.

"The LEA now understands that the Government is reviewing the situation in the light of the latest information and we are pressing for any new advice they have."

If Beijing is declared a restricted travel area, the school's travel company has given a commitment to take whatever steps are considered necessary for the pupils' safe return.

But the pupils will not be quarantined on their arrival back in the North West, scheduled for Sunday, provided they are not showing any symptoms of the disease.

* BRITONS travelling to countries hit by the Sars virus have been buying hi-tech face masks to protect themselves from the killer illness.

Newcampe Medical, based in Dullingham, Cambs, has already sent out 60 orders, mainly to holidaymakers heading for Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore over the past two weeks.